A Stranger Calls
by hollywooddove
Summary: In time of need, a stranger comes calling.


A Stranger Calls

Darlene could have sworn smoke curled from the corner of his smile. She had called it thirty years ago, told her mother what he was. Her mother told her to set the table and stop acting. And after thirty years, here he was out of the blue again just like he had been before; polished, dashing. Darlene was at the bus stop after her shift waiting tables on a corner in Atlanta, and she hoped she was mistaken, but she wasn't.

"Darlene Backner," he said with a confidence as though he had known her all of her life. Darlene averted her eyes and looked up the street, hoping she would see the bus soon in the dark Georgia night.

"Don't you remember me Darlene? I surely remember you."

"I remember you all too right and I would appreciate it if you would find another bus stop to stand. Atlanta is full of them."

"Oh, sweet Darlene, I know all the stops."

"I bet you do," she sneered.

"Why, Darlene, I detect a bit of bitter sweet anger in that southern chime you honor me with."

"Don't pretend to be no gentlemen. If you were gentlemen, you would get as far from me as you possibly can right now," she said while looking up through the tall Atlanta skyline.

"Darlene, that was thirty years ago. We were kids."

"You weren't no kid. Not in the head any hows."

The man nodded slowly, and said in a smooth voice, "Can I ever make it up to you?"

Darlene had heard these words before. Thirty years ago, he had asked the same, and she said yes, take me with you. He said follow me and I will show you all your heart has ever yearned for. And she left her home, at the age of sixteen. This man, who told her his name was Freddy Jones, had been working on her parent's farm for a mere three weeks. Times were tough. Almost catastrophic, times were.

The Kreeson's cows, all sixty two head, had died, thirty years ago. Above all insult too, they had each and every one rushed into the dry land pond during a storm. Every single head drowned. Old man Kreeson had somehow kept his head above water though. He contributed part of the success to repairs on his farm by a stranger who had come through town looking for work. Old man Kreeson felt lucky, and blessed, that this young man had wandered in at such an opportune time.

Jab S. Farley had every one of his chicken houses blow down. It was a horrible storm. But he was able to rebuild quickly by a very savvy young man who had come to his aid, looking for work.

Miss Beverly Swan's car slid off the road during that storm, and she was rescued by some mysterious young man who was she had never seen before.

Mack Druck's garage had a wind so strong go through, that several cars were demolished. He came out squeaky clean and even swept up a profit. Some novel young man, a stranger in town calling on those who needed help, gave him some advice. Perhaps not ethical, but it was profitable.

Grady Knick had a severe call of conscious, as he was at a house of ill repute when the storm came in, and he worried over his family. His car would not start; he could not get home to his family and check on their safety. A young man wandered through, and with expertise repaired his car.

Extraordinarily, Betsy Jeweles was coming out of the local drug store when the storm hit and was assailed by a young thug with a knife. Another young man appeared out of nowhere and tackled the thug. She felt blessed.

Darlene's family barely felt any effect of the storm at all, except shingles had been blown from their roof. Darlene's father cursed the bad luck, until a young man, Freddy Jones by name, had wandered into their life. Room and board was all he asked for, and in return he would replace the shingles himself.

Freddy Jones had come calling on the Darlene Backner's family four days after the storm had left its wake of ruin just as the sun was going down. Barney, the farm canine, a large golden Lab, was barking fiercely. If it weren't for the dog's irate fit, she would have never looked out the door and saw the stranger out front. Darlene remembered spying Freddy by the front gate as her father and he spoke. For a moment, she could have sworn the stranger who had come calling looked right through her father and at her. At the time, she thought it was her imagination, but as years went by and on occasions when she reflected on that moment, she was sure he had.

"Miss Darlene," Freddy had asked her on her father's front porch, sipping on a cold ice tea, "You seem to have everything here, but you barely ever smile."

The young Darlene replied, "It's just boring on this farm, I suppose. Always boring. Same day in and day out."

Freddy smiled, "And you dream of a life to match your own beauty, don't you Darlene?"

Darlene rushed in the house and began helping her mother set the table. It was Freddy's last afternoon at the farm; he had finished the roof in only two days of time, plenty of time to get to know Darlene. Freddy had done both very quickly; he was a fast worker. "Mama," Darlene said as she set the silverware, "why did you cook so much tonight?"

"It's Freddy's last afternoon here, and he has been so generous in his help."

Darlene said, "I think he is the devil himself, mama."

Darlene's mother frowned and stopped for a moment, "Sherry Darlene Backner, whatever would make you say such a thing."

"I don't know mama. I'm just talking. Sometimes he says things like he knows what I am thinking."

"Well Darlene, you're not that hard to figure out honey."

After dinner that night, Darlene watched Freddy take an apple and place it close to his mouth. He looked over at her and winked, licked the green apple before taking a bite and Darlene could have sworn she saw a forked tongue. But she knew that had to be her imagination.

She never really fell asleep that night, and it was around the two o'clock hour when she heard pebbles rapping at her window. Barney wasn't barking, but she hadn't noticed Barney had been missing for the last couple of days. She opened the window and hissed, "What are you doing out here? You supposed to be done left."

Freddy was out by her window in the bright full moon, "I'm leaving town, Darlene. I have no more business here. I have helped all the people I can after that storm, helped put up chicken houses and such, it's time for me to leave."

Darlene frowned a bit, "You ain't never coming back?"

Freddy smiled, "It's a big world out there Darlene. Much bigger than you imagine. There are a lot of people who need my help."

"I don't need your help, Freddy Jones. You just go see the world," she said in a tone of jealousy against the world at whole. She reached up and grabbed the window, ready to slam it.

"Darlene, why don't you go with me?"

"Are you crazy? I can't go with you. This is my home!"

Freddy looked up at the glowing moon with his hands in his pockets and his shoulders arched, "Is it really, Darlene? Are you happy? Don't you think a person's happiness is most important in this life? If we can't have happiness, right now, then what do we have?"

"You are crazy."

Freddy gazed directly into Darlene's eyes, and the crystal blue of his large eyes seemed to glow in the moon's aura. "Listen to me Darlene, if you come with me, I will make sure you never have to come back to this. You will be your own woman. You will make your own way and live your own dreams. I will show you how."

She only stood silently by the window, a gentle breeze playing in her drapes.

"Darlene, all you have to do is place your trust in me."

And she followed. Now after leaving her, thirty years ago, here he was again. She peered at him with much hate. He reached out his hand and an ominous thunder cracked in the sky, "It's about to storm, Darlene. It's going to be a bad one. A lot of damage is going to happen to Atlanta, and a lot of people are going to need help."

"I didn't need your help thirty years ago, Freddy Jones. I don't need it tonight."

He smiled the smile again, the same smile which said he pitied her and wished to rescue her from every wrongness she had ever known or would ever see. He said, "I have something to show you."

The two stepped out of the streetlights and to a locked, steel doorway at the rear of a towering Atlanta sky scraper. He grabbed the locked nob with his hand and she could hear the locks tumble and echo loose. With a turn of the nob, the door opened, and beyond the doorway was a set of steps going down into a thick darkness.

"What is that?" Darlene asked.

"You have to go now, Darlene. It's time to leave."

Darlene heard a screech, and she looked back to see a mass of people huddled around some tragic happening at the bus stop where she had just left. She told Freddy, "I am not going down there."

"Darlene, my sweet, sweet Darlene, you really don't have a choice."

She looked back at the huddled people, and saw as they shuffled around, lying in the center of their concern was woman wearing a waitress' uniform just as her own. Her heart shook in her chest, and she informed Freddy, "I have to go see who that woman is laying over there. It could be Marcy, she just finished her shift also."

Freddy said, "It's not Marcy."

Tears began to well in Darlene's eyes, "It could be, how do you know?"

Freddy said, "Darlene, sugar, you know who it is."

Thunder clapped again, and Darlene shook her head and wiped her nose with her wrist, "No. No. You're crazy. That's Marcy or someone else."

Freddy only shook his head and frowned sincerely, "I'm sorry, Darlene. I really am."

Tears rolled down her cheeks and her voice trembled, "I told my mama you was the devil. I told her. She didn't ever believe nothing I ever said."

"Come along Darlene."

"But why? Why?" she cried. "You got no right. You made me promises you never kept and now here you come wanting to take me away."

"I simply told you to follow me, and you did. Now how you managed the details, well… you did the best you could Darlene."

Darlene sniffed and said scornfully, "Yeah, busting my hump as a waitress making nothing since I was sixteen years old, Freddy, or Lucifer, or whatever you want to be called."

"Freddy is fine."

Her eyes were puffy and she pulled a handkerchief from her purse, "Don't you have something better to do? Isn't there some world leader or war you could be causing? Ain't no reason to be taking me. I'm nothing special."

"Oh, Darlene sugar, you all look the same to me."

"I'm just one little old soul. I'd never be missed. Besides, this is all your fault."

"My fault? Darlene, my dear, it was your life, I never had a motive."

Freddy took Darlene by the arm and led her through the doorway. She sobbed as they stepped into the draping darkness, and Freddy consoled her along the way. The door closed, upon its own, behind them, and the locks tumbled and clicked back into place.

Always beware, and never trust, when a stranger calls.


End file.
